Surrender, Strength, and Building a Family on Faith -Dennis Nun

Dennis grew up in a close-knit farming community in Nebraska, surrounded by faith in a churched environment. His family attended church, and he even went through catechism. Despite this, his faith remained intellectual and cultural, lacking a personal connection with Jesus as he wrestled with the contradictory things he learned in church and school. While attending a management seminar in Green Lake, Wisconsin, in his mid-20s, a friend asked Dennis if he had ever accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. Dennis realized that while he knew about God, he had never made a personal commitment. In that moment, he decided to accept Jesus into his heart, which planted the subtle seeds of faith in Dennis that his wife of 5 years, Patty, noticed, even though he wasnt fully aware of the changes himself. Within a few weeks, through subtle nudges, the two would wind up at a small Evangelical Free Church early one Sunday morning, where Patty would also have a transformative encounter with Christ. Following this transformation in both their spiritual lives and relationship with one another, Dennis and Patty began to build a family with God at the center rather than themselves. Despite initially struggling with infertility, failed procedures, and miscarriages, they eventually surrendered their desire for children to God and, soon after, were blessed with six children. Dennis and Patty committed to raising their children in a Christ-centered home, creating traditions like "Dad’s Class," where Dennis spent one-on-one time nurturing the faith and character of his children. This strong spiritual foundation not only helped their family grow closer but also prepared them for one of the greatest trials of their lives—the sudden, unexpected death of their son in 2020. Though their grief was overwhelming, Dennis and Patty leaned on their deep faith, finding solace in the belief that God was with them through the pain and that they would one day be reunited with their son in Heaven.“My relationship with God is such that I can't imagine my life without. I can't imagine going through anything like the things that we've gone through in our life without having the faith and the assurance of things unseen. I think that as much as God is unseen, He's still very present.”